Cook County, Illinois Treasurer warns U.H. Homeowners and Retirees of local debt hazards
Forbes - Larry Bell - 12/18/2012
Maria Pappas has been Cook
County Treasurer since 1998. Her office oversees the finances of the 19th
largest government in the United
States and collects more than $11 billion annually from property taxes on
1.8 million parcels. She served two terms as a Cook County Commissioner before
becoming Treasurer.
While much public attention
is directed to national, state and large-city debt issues, Treasurer Pappas
warns homeowners and taxpayers to pay careful attention to mounting local
public debt in their communities. She is in a solid position to know, having
conducted studies of alarming debt conditions across her county’s approximately
2,200 taxing districts.
Maria Pappas: The picture
isn’t pretty. Almost everyone’s focus is primarily upon finances of the federal
or state governments. Few pay attention to local governments.
In May, 2012, the collective
debt reported by the local primary taxing agencies in Cook County
Homeowners might be able to
give their homes to their children, but that future generation won’t be able to
afford to keep them because of the property taxes, which have doubled over a
10-year period.
I asked the Cook County
Board of Commissioners in 2009 for a “Debt Disclosure Ordinance” authorizing my
office to collect all this financial information that would provide the
answers. Now, when these local governments report their numbers, taxpayers can
easily find them on my website at www.cookcountytreasurer.com.
How does your reporting
system work?
It’s simple: by the last
Tuesday in December, every taxing district uploads its data to a secure
website. Voila! The information is immediately available for the public to
view. The site enables taxpayers to then “drill down” into each agency listed
on the bill. Visitors can click an icon next to each agency and see
budgeted revenues, the amount of money collected from the property owner,
outstanding debt (including pensions), the 10-year levy history, and the
percentage of levy change over 10 years. Visitors can also click a link to view
the Annual Financial Report as provided by each taxing district in PDF format.
Fiscal problems are a
problem in every different type of local government: townships, villages,
school districts, park districts, fire protection districts, sanitary
districts, school districts, libraries and more. Taxpayers are on the hook for
the debt that each of these governments continues to amass.
States overwhelmingly
receive the majority of federal government money as compared to what is
distributed to local governments.
The financial situation is
bad right now for all local governments, no matter the size. I can’t imagine
how future generations will be able to afford it.
The Gail Borden Library in
suburban Elgin
Why your town is going broke
Tea Party Economist – Gary North
– 1/30/2013
Voters will simply tell the
town councils to declare bankruptcy. The elected officials will do this.
When it’s a showdown between
voters and ex-unionized pensioners, the pensioners will lose.
The union members who worked
all their lives for less money in order to collect fat pensions will get
stiffed.
How many votes do the unions
have? Not many.
Will voters sacrifice their
homes to pay off old city debts? Not a chance.
Will bondholders get
stiffed? Of course. How many votes do out-of-town bondholders have locally?
The Great Default is coming.
Be prepared.
Northwoods Patriots - Standing up for Faith, Family, Country - northwoodspatriotscomm@gmail.com
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